Claire Scott

Algebra For All

Two cyclists start at the same time from opposite ends of a 45 mile course (clearly they’re not fond of each other or they would ride side by side and complain about their wives).
One cyclist (fatter, less fit) is riding at 14 mph.
The second cyclist (slimmer, well-toned) is riding at 16 mph.
How long before they collide? Will they go for a beer after?

The secret to solving life’s problems is to translate words into equations.
14x + 16x = 45
30x = 45
x = 1 ½  hours  

The cyclists will crash in an hour and a half (provided neither stops to pee.)

 

Most days: Susan and Jerry fight. Scathing insults. Scratched faces.
At night: Separate Beds. Separate Bedrooms.
Susan threatens to go back to Joe of Hot Hands.
Jerry wants a ménage à trois to spruce things up.

x + y are unhappy
x wants to leave
y wants a third

0x +(x-y)2  + 1– (2y-8x) + a + b –q = hopeless, too many unknowns

Numbers and letters slide through our fingers.
Clearly we need a new type of math.

Solve for x when x is love.

Claire Scott is an award winning poet who has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize. Her work has been accepted by the Atlanta Review, Bellevue Literary Review, Enizagam and Healing Muse among others. Claire is the author of Waiting to be Called and the co-author of Unfolding in Light: A Sisters’ Journey in Photography and Poetry.